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Diary
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Wednesday, 17 July 2002 We are currently in Quetta, southern Pakistan. We have now been on the road 71 days and covered 8957 miles (14 331 kms). We spent a day in Bam, an oasis
town close to the Iran/Pakistan border and usually the first (those On Monday we left early to get
across into Pakistan at the border of Mirjaveh. The Lonely Planet states
that the border is open from 7am to 8pm so we thought we'd get across in
the afternoon, stay in Taftan just across the border and this would allow
us a full day on the road without the hassle of a border crossing then
trying to get to Quetta. However, perhaps just in summer - we don't know,
the border on the Pakistan side is closed from 1pm till 4pm (immigration)
and customs from 4pm till 6pm. It took us an hour to get through the Iran
side and we arrived at 1:30pm on the Pakistan side to find that they were
asleep for "lunch". We made good use of the time and changed
some money, there are quite a few At 4pm the officials were awake and working again so we breezed through immigration. Heading onto Customs for the final hurdle we were told that they had just gone off duty and would be back at 6pm! Anyway another 2 hour wait and finally we were able to check into the only hotel, the run down PTDC, and get some "rest". This hotel is government owned so right next door to the customs office. It is expensive at more than US $ 10 each and there was no electricity or running water! Taftan is not more than a squatter camp of a town in the middle of the desert! We do not recommend doing the same thing if you are doing this route. It would probably be better to stay the other side of the border, perhaps in Zehadan or closer if you can. We met a Swiss couple that did this and got through the border at 7am in 2 hours with no such problems. Pakistan Quetta is another milestone in our trip, we spoke about this town many years ago and finally we are here. It's a long, hard struggle to reach it from Iran due to the vast desert that has to be crossed. Most people do the 650 km sandy haul in 2 days but we decided to put ourselves and the bikes to the test and do it in one. It's the best part of 50 degrees centigrade in places now in mid summer. It was probably the hardest thing we have done on a motorbike and took us from 6am to 6pm to complete. It was also the longest day we have had on the bike so far at 401 miles. The road is single track from Dalbandin, about half way and so when trucks or busses are coming the other way you have to get off the tar as the biggest vehicle takes preference! The drivers are not aggressive and do slow right down for you, flash lights and wave a friendly greeting. We met a few Pakistan truckers and were amazed at the pride they take in their vehicles. They decorate them like Christmas trees with jingling chains and some intricately painted art on every square inch of metal. There are a number of police check points along the way, perhaps 10, but we were only asked to stop 3 times for passport checks. The officials are very friendly and it appears there are no problems in this area. We eventually got our weary selves to the Marina hotel at about 7pm. They insisted on us driving our bikes through the front door and putting the bikes into the courtyard within the hotel complex. This was not as easy as they made out! Riding a 250kg motorbike up 3 steps and through a normal door takes a little skill! They did provide a door laid over the steps that we could ride up so it proved to be a little easier than first thought. We have noticed a change in the Pakistan people compared to the Iranians. Although they gather around you when you stop, they seem more interested in you than the bike. If you move away from the bike, rather than stay with the bike and ogle at it, they will move to where you are going. Today we decided to have a day off as we've been on the move for the last 5 days without a break, covering 2500 kilometres. There is some maintenance to be done on the bikes with oil and tyre pressure checks as well as changing of chain and sprockets of Gary's bike. Tomorrow we continue north up toward Islamabad, parallel to the Afghanistan border. It is probably a good 2 days before we reach Islamabad where we are looking forward to the beginning of the Karakoram Highway (KKH), 1600 km of breathtaking road climbing it's way up to the Karakoram mountain range. We are told this area has the most roads above 4000m in the world and thus it's a motor bikers paradise! Itinerary of the last few days: Sunday, 14 July Monday, 15 July Tuesday, 16 July (longest day on
the bikes so far) The
Saturday, 14 July 2002 We are currently in Kermăn, south-eastern Iran. We have now been on the road 68 days and covered 8066 miles (12 906 kms). In the past 2 days we have covered 675 miles (1080 kms). Due to our visa problems we are moving quite quickly to get to Pakistan before our transit visa expires in 2 days time (16 July). We got up at 5am and rode south all day from Esfahan to Shiraz where we arrived at sunset. We had planned to be at our destination at just after lunchtime to avoid being on the road in the heat of the day, which is between 2pm and 6pm when it's like an oven! However, a detour over some mountains due to roadwork led us to a police check that took up an hour's precious time. Once we had left that behind we pressed on but were again stopped by the police in the town of Yasuj. Here the police didn't seem to appear to know what they were doing? We were asked for our passports and then asked to follow an officer, who had our passports, to the police station. At the station another officer took our passports and asked us to follow him. This went on for some time before we were taken to a unit on the outskirts of town and asked to wait again. This process of following police cars around and waiting for goodness knows what, took up the best part of 3 hours. To add to the problem, there were no English speakers who could tell us what we were being held for. Eventually we tried to explain that our visas were limited and that we had to be in out of Iran and enter Pakistan within 3 days. We still had a long distance to cover in order to make it in time and their "game" was not doing us any favours! They agreed to let us go but took details of our passports and we carried on, but in the heat of the day, something we had planned for by getting up at 5am!! On Saturday we got up even earlier, at 4:30am, and rode to Kermăn. We weren't stopped at any police checks and arrived at 3pm, avoiding the heat as planned. The Iranian drivers kept us on our toes with their erratic driving. There were a few close calls including a bus pushing us off the road but we managed to keep our cool. We crossed the Daryăche-e Bakhtegan desert from Shiraz to Sirjan, which took us 2 hours, riding at 100km per hour so you can appreciate how big it is. In places it felt like a sauna and the bikes heating up in the mid summer conditions but not showing any signs of fatigue at all. It certainly is a pleasure to ride these machines in such conditions as now we begin to appreciate just how robust and hardy they are. Since entering Iran 8 days ago we have covered 1722 miles (2755 kms), 2 of those days have not included any riding! It has been tough going but quite enjoyable all the same, we are certainly learning things about how the body copes under such conditions: little sleep/food, heat in excess of 40 degrees and the Iranian drivers making sure you have to concentrate 110% while on the bike. Tomorrow we have an easy day from Kermăn to Bam, which is around 200kms. We'll spend tomorrow doing the touristy things around Bam as it will be our last day in Iran before heading for Taftan and Pakistan the following day. Itinerary of the last few days: Friday, 12 July Saturday, 12 July Thursday, 11 July 2002 We are currently in Esfahan, central Iran. We entered Iran on Saturday 6 July so have been here for almost a week now. We have been on the road 66 days and covered 7391 miles (11 826 kms). After leaving Dogubeyazit, the last town of Eastern Turkey, we entered Iran at the border of Bazargan. There were few hiccups and we were through the border within 2 hours. We noticed an almost immediate change upon entering Iran. The people are extremely friendly to tourists and make you feel at home at once! They are not trying to sell you anything and they do not want anything from you, they simply want to speak to you and learn about where you are from and what you are doing in their country. We rode east to reach Tabriz, one of Iran's biggest cities, a good days ride from the border. Here we spent two nights hoping to extend our 5-day transit visa for at least 5 days, hopefully a few weeks. Within a few hours of arriving in Tabriz, we had made a few friends. Hassan, Majid, Mojtaba and Salman invited us to join them for dinner on the second night. We obliged and, 6 up in a traditional Iranian Taxi, the Paykan, we headed out for the night. They refused when we tried to pay for anything and we had Iranian pizza followed by drinks in the park close by. The hospitality is overwhelming when you consider how little these people have. Unemployment is very high and many people live on the breadline, yet they are so friendly! After leaving Tabriz, with no visa extension, we decided to try Tehran on the advice of the foreign affairs officials in Tabriz. En route to Tehran we spent a day at Gazvin, a bustling little town close to the mountains. The next day we did a day trip up to Alamut, a small village up in the mountains. The roads are awesome for a motorbike, twisting their way up over the pass and down into the valley in which Alamut lies. Here we visited the ruins of the 11th century Castle of the Assassins, set high up on the mountain overlooking Alamut. The castle is aptly named because Hasan Sabbah, Ismaili cult founder, doped candidates who wished to join him against the then rulers of Iran. They were then sent on missions to wipe out the opposition. We were treated to a royal visit as some 8 local historians joined us up to the summit where the ruins now remain. Afterwards we were invited in for tea and cherries, one of the many fruits produced in the summer by the village below. The region has only 3 months of summer when they harvest their abundance of fruit (apricots, cherries, rice, peaches, etc) and the population swells to some 5000. In the harsh winter this area is almost uninhabited, with only 200 people remaining in the village. The rest seek work in other parts of the country, mostly in Tehran. A 6am start the next day saw us reach Tehran at 9am and we eventually found the foreign office, after negotiating the Tehran rush hour traffic that reminded us of being in an arcade game! Lanes are not really adhered to in Iran; taxis, small motorbikes and local cars simply change lanes at will, finding the most aerodynamic way forward whatever the direction! We certainly had to have our wits about us on the motorway, as a car moving 3 lanes in about as many seconds is not uncommon! After almost 3 hours of pleading unsuccessfully for a visa extension with the government officials at the foreign office, we decided to get out of Tehran. Tehran to Esfahan is usually a good days ride at some 500 kms, but as we departed at noon, it was a long day for us. There is little in between Tehran and Esfahan so we rode non-stop through the heat of the day to reach Esfahan after sunset. This has been our longest day on the bikes so far, 400 miles (640 kms), and probably one of the most taxing too! But, as our 5 day transit visa was about to come to an end the following day, we had to no option but to try one last time in Esfahan to extend it or face the unknown at the frequent police road blocks. This whole visa saga has left a sour taste in our mouths and so here's a word of advice on anyone hoping to visit Iran: Get a 30-day tourist visa!! We have spent a day in Esfahan, half a day extending our visa at the (only!?) helpful foreign office and the other half sightseeing. Esfahan used to be the capital of Iran years ago and there are many palaces and monuments showing this, which are well worth a visit. Unfortunately our time has been cut short in Iran due to our visa complications. We had hoped to spend close to a month here but now we are forced to leave within 10 days. The people are so friendly, it is extremely cheap (petrol is 6 US cents per litre) and there is much to do and see but it's not to be for us. Tomorrow we will head south to Shiraz, where we'll spend a day, then we move east to Kerman, Bam and Pakistan over the border within the next 5 days. It has been enlightening to be able to visit Iran as we had heard so much about it. The roads are extremely good and the scenery picturesque. It is one of the few countries with such a variation in climate: In the north toward the Caspian Sea, it is warm in summer but very cold in winter. Here there are fertile valleys, where export quality fruit is grown and the Alborz Mountains are snow-capped throughout summer. Much of Eastern Iran is uninhabited due to the deserts, which take up most of its countryside. Tehran, in the centre, is the capital with 12 million people. In the south the Persian Gulf offers a coastal climate and has ports busy ferrying oil out to much of the world. Itinerary of the last few days: Saturday, 6 July Sunday, 7 July Monday, 8 July Tuesday, 9 July Wednesday, 10 July
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